While the Aquino administration failed to have the bill passed, it doesn’t mean it did nothing to introduce and encourage citizen participation and open governance. As soon as Aquino assumed the presidency, his administration made big strides and laid the groundwork for promoting transparency in the bureaucracy.

In Argentina, where consultations on the country’s second National Action Plan recently concluded, a pair of articles in Diario UNO and MDZ Online of the city of Mendoza reported on a ruling by the province’s Supreme Court, which cited the country’s membership in OGP. Declaring that all public officials working under the judiciary would henceforth be obligated to make annual public asset disclosures, the Court stated: “[s]ince October 2012, our country has been a member of the Open Government Partnership and has adhered to the Open Government Declaration… the fight against corruption, through the promotion of transparency policies, is taking on an ever more important place in government agendas, and this is no different for Supreme Courts.”

Across the Atlantic in Tunisia, there was a focus on disclosure and transparency in the hydrocarbons industry. La Presse de Tunisie ran an article about the country’s new open data portal on extractive contracts and production, which referenced OGP. L’Economiste Maghrebin published an interview with Minister Aisha Karafi on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and she opened her comments by citing OGP.

In our March installment of #FacesOfOpenGov, @maryfrancoli talks about the evolution of the IRM, the future of gender and inclusion in OGP, and plans for the #OGPAcademy at #OGPCanada. Meet the IEP Chair and @Carleton_U associate dean: https://bit.ly/2FfRaJ8